According to the PwC Remote Work Survey, remote working is a success for 83 percent of companies and 71 percent of individuals.
However, with increasing mobility, flexibility, and UC requirements, hybrid working raises additional expectations for successful business communications. A mash-up of mobile phones, landlines, and UC apps can be used as a quick remedy. Employees and customers may have a disconnected experience as a result of this.
Many organisations that have previously made significant investments in hardware, handsets, servers, communications servers, and other IT equipment face a further issue. Simply discarding these to enable cloud transformation entails a write-off of an investment in equipment that has several years of useful life remaining.
Everyone realises that cloud solutions provide significant flexibility for the 92 percent of employees who want to work remotely at least one day a week, according to a PwC survey, and that the cloud is well-suited for hybrid working. However, for companies that have already invested in customer premise equipment like PBXs, or remote contact centre solutions, digital transformation must be done in a cost-effective manner that does not jeopardise existing investments.
On-premises phone systems require a new approach that enables cloud-based voice on desktop devices and mobile apps while still leveraging current on-premises phone system assets to create a unified experience. This kind of experience makes it easier to enable hybrid workers while still maintaining continuous service, and it can be done without investing in new infrastructure.
The best of both worlds
The good news is that this is doable, and a hybrid approach to cloud communications can be used. By constructing a new communications solution around an organization’s existing infrastructure, a hybrid system provides the best of both worlds.
To this goal, NEC has created CONNECT BRIDGE. The solution is built on the UNIVERGE BLUE Cloud Services Platform and allows existing NEC phone systems to take use of cloud-based services and solutions while keeping their existing system. Integration with non-NEC systems is also possible with this technique.
Existing NEC customers can use CONNECT BRIDGE to migrate to the cloud at their own pace and add cloud-based functionality to their platforms. With integrated video conferencing, chat, file sharing, and more, users can communicate in the office, at home, or from anywhere. The benefits of this strategy are already being recognised in the market. “We’re a beta channel partner for UNIVERGE BLUE CONNECT BRIDGE’s UK release,” says Tom Pearce, Managing Director of Equations Voice & Data Communications.
